When Marina beach was closed ~ Social distancing .. Curfew !!

 

When Marina beach was  closed ~ Social distancing .. Curfew !! 

 

Visitors to homes in Triplicane are often lured to going to the pleasant Marina beach – but when they have paucity of time, and children cry to go – we would say ‘Marina is closed – locked, and would be opened only next morning !’. those days even in our wildest of dreams we did not imagine that Beach would be CLOSED .. .. and it did occur this day on year 2020 !! 

 

Imagine an alien creature floating in space. It doesn’t grow, communicate or move at all under its own steam. Without a home it is inert. We know very little about it, except that it will start reproducing when it enters the atmosphere of a planet that suits it. Is it living? Is it dangerous?

People have forgotten totally that somewhere in Jan 2020  or  prior, the virus that caused  the Covid-19 pandemic around the world was not known, at all, to science, perhaps to humanity.  In the months and weeks since, researchers learnt  as much as they can about this pathogen — and at breakneck speed. Scientists sequenced its genome and began to create vaccines in the hope of making people immune to it.   In between, there were social media Scientists busy in WA & FB dishing out newer rumours. 

On that tension filled time, Prime Minister urged citizens to follow the concept of  ‘Janta Curfew’ on 22 March, 2020 from 7 AM to 9 PM, wherein no one apart from those involved with essential services were supposed to venture out of home.       

Had heard this word ‘corniche’ in Gulf and thought it to be representing beach.  A corniche is a road on the side of a cliff or mountain, with the ground rising on one side and falling away on the other. The word has been absorbed into English from the French term route à corniche or "road on a ledge", originally derived from the Italian cornice, for "ledge". The Cornish people are a Celtic ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons who inhabited southern and central Great Britain before the Roman conquest.  

A thing of beauty is a joy for ever ~ and one such is ‘Marina beach’ known for its  pristine beautiful sandy shores - that runs from Fort St George to Besant Nagar. This beach has a long history.  This was conceived in 1884 and christened by Mountstuart Elphinstone Grant-Duff, the then governor of Madras – the beautiful beach  is famed for the  ambience and rich eco system though it  stands a lot polluted now.   On the road side, many stone statues, some of them installed during the Tamil World Conference adorn the area.  There are famous landmarks like Vivekanandar Illam, Presidency College, PWD building, University and more.  

Early morning the famous Marina beach offers intriguing things.  There are young, old, fast, slow, and varied people indulging in chit-chatting, eating and drinking the various health drinks ! that are sold on pavements.  You can see people walking, fast-walking, jogging, sprinting, skipping, doing physical exercises, yoga, laughing out loud – more – all law unto themselves – thinking and spreading that these are the passport to good health.  For every visitor, Marina beach offers cool breeze and a serene atmosphere.. ..  

And on this day in 2020 - ‘Marina beach was  closed’ and was made out of bounds of people from 3 pm.  We must be thankful to God and to our Nation that we are alive after the turbulence that Covid caused.   

 

Jai Hind.

 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

21.3.2026.

கதை கேளு, கதை கேளு - Yashica Camera கதை கேளு !!

 

The subject matter of this post is an item of 1968 – intend writing more about its gentle-mannered owner – gentleman of Triplicane @ 86 whom I met and heard intensely for an hour or so [more on that later !!] 

கதை கேளு, கதை கேளு - யாஷிகா கேமெரா கதை கேளு !! 

Dedicated to all our friends who imagine themselves to be a Photographer, whipping out fancy mobiles or hold DSLRs with varied lenses, trying to take photos !  life was far different for photographers half-a-century or so ago !! 

Those days only elite few owned Cameras; there were Photo studios in cities.  It was manual focusing, which demanded precision from the operator to ensure subjects were sharp, particularly when using wide apertures.  Unlike modern cameras that automatically adjust to light, photographers had to manually set the aperture and shutter speed.  One had to commit to one ISO (film speed) for the entire roll of film (12-36 shots), limiting flexibility when moving between, for example, bright daylight and dark interiors. Many 1960s cameras had maximum shutter speeds of only 1/500 sec, which is much lower than modern cameras, making fast action shots harder to capture. 

The one here was manufactured by a Company that was founded in Nagano, Japan.  Its eight employees originally manufactured components for electric clocks. Later, they began making camera components, and by June 1953 had introduced their first complete camera  -  Yashica, was founded in 1949 in Nagano, Japan, by brothers Yoshimasa Ushiyama and Jisaburo Ushiyama.  

 

The one pictured here is  “Yashica-Mat” -  a classic Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) medium format camera that was Yashica's first "crank-advance" model. Introduced in 1957, it was designed to compete with the high-end German Rolleiflex at a more accessible price point.  It featured an 80mm f/3.5 Yashinon (the lower lens).   The top lens (viewing one) was 80mm f/3.2 (or f/3.5 depending on the exact year). It had slightly wider aperture making  the viewfinder image brighter, helping  focus in dim light.  There was a Bayonet mount allowing attachment of filters, lens hoods.  The shutter was a Copal-MXV leaf shutter. Since it was a fully mechanical camera, there was no battery requirement.  

.. .. ..  and the original  Japanese Yashica (founded in 1949)  ceased to exist in 2005 after its parent company, Kyocera, pulled out of the camera market.  It was painful and was not overnight – a slow collapse that spread across   distinct stages. It’s a classic story of a company that was brilliant at mechanics but got cornered by the digital revolution. In the early 1980s, the camera world shifted from manual focus to autofocus (AF).   Yashica struggled to keep up. By 1975, Yashica was already struggling financially due to aggressive expansion and high overhead.  In 1983, the Japanese ceramics giant Kyocera stepped in and bought Yashica to save it from total bankruptcy. For a while, that worked but when photography moved from film to digital – the company  Kyocera made the corporate decision to abandon the camera market entirely. 

Interesting ! – sure would follow with posts on the owner of this 1968 model, a Triplicane vasi.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
21.3.2026
 

 

Triplicane divine photographers !!

 

A yardstick is called so, for it measures exactly one yard—3 feet or 36 inches long.  The term combines "yard," an old English unit from Proto-Germanic roots meaning rod or staff (once roughly the distance from King Henry I's nose to his thumb), with "stick" for the straight wooden tool. 

There are different ‘Yardsticks’ – here is two from Triplicane, loved by devotees for providing quality darshan of Emperuman 

Triplicane Temple photographers !!

Coins !!! ஒண்ணும் பெரிதில்லை !! சில்லறை தட்டுப்பாடு !!!

 

ஒண்ணும் பெரிதில்லை !!  சில்லறை தட்டுப்பாடு

 

Was your child age – one of shortage or of aplenty !! (it is not about wealth or resources!!)  The medium of exchange is Currency and the Indian currency is Rupee.  The Rupee is further subdivided into 100 units called ‘paise’ and other than the paper currency – Rupee notes, coins are also in circulation and are legal tenders.  

In recent times, we are not seeing – Re. 1/ Rs. 2 / Rs. 5 notes these days – Rs.10 circulating in the market are old, faded, shredded,  soiled; there seemingly is shortage for Rs.20 notes as well – Rs.50 are available 

A few decades ago, most personal usage was Coins .. ..  India faces ongoing small coin shortages, especially ₹1, ₹2, and ₹5 in semi-urban/rural spots. Coins below 50 paise were demonetized years ago, but even valid ones like 50 paise circulate poorly due to hoarding.   In the modern World, there are no rules for spending ~ one need not have anything to spend – not even Credit cards (plastic money) ! – people are wary of carrying coins – yet the Rs.10 coin created so much of buzz as it was accepted in some places !!!  

As World moves on, due to inflation and change in spending styles, Small change coins often disappear from circulation due to hoarding, high production costs exceeding their face value, and a shift to digital payments. In India, where shortages of coins like 50 paise or ₹1 are common, people stash them in piggy banks or jars rather than spending them.  Minting low-denomination coins costs more than their value due to metal prices and inflation, leading governments like RBI to mint fewer.  

Central banks phase out low-denomination coins by ceasing minting when production costs exceed face value or usage drops, followed by official withdrawal via government notification that ends their legal tender status. This process often includes public announcements, grace periods for exchange at banks, and rounding rules for transactions.  

 

The Indian Coinage Act, 1906,  enacted during British rule, is the primary legislation governing the minting, standards, and legal tender status of coins in India. The  Government of India has the sole right to mint coins.   Coins are minted at the four India Government Mints at Mumbai, Alipore(Kolkata), Saifabad(Hyderabad), Cherlapally (Hyderabad) and NOIDA (UP). The coins are issued for circulation only through the Reserve Bank in terms of the RBI Act.  

Coinage of India, issued by imperial dynasties and middle kingdoms - Cowry shells was first used in India as commodity money.  Metal currency was minted in India  during the famed  Mauryan Empire.    Coins of the Indian rupee were first minted in 1950. New coins have been produced annually since then and they make up a valuable aspect of the Indian currency system.  After Indian independence, British Indian coins were in use as a frozen currency until India became a republic in 1950.  

The first rupee coins of the Republic of India were minted in 1950. These included 1/2 rupee, 1/4 rupee, 2 anna, 1 anna, 1/2 anna & 1 pice coins, and are referred to as the anna series or pre-decimal coinage. Under the anna series, one rupee was divided into 16 annas or 64 pice, with each anna equal to 4 pice. In 1957, India shifted to the decimal system, though for a short period of time, both decimal and non-decimal coins were in circulation.     

Not sure, how many of you still carry small change (in coins) and do you remember naya paisa ? – I remember 1 paisa, 2 paisa, 3, 5, 10, 20, 25, 1 rupee, 2 rupee & 10 rupee coins – also remember having seen Rs. 20, 50 & 100 coins !!  

Now we don’t see Rs.2000 notes too.  Introduced on November 8, 2016, during demonetization to meet urgent cash needs, printing stopped after FY 2018-19 once other denominations stabilized.  The highest Valued currency ever printed in India is ₹10,000. The highest denomination   note was first introduced in 1938.

 

Here is a photo of my collection of coins, [not valid now]  – which I proudly used during my school days.

 
Regards – S Sampathkumar
20.3.2026